City gal gone farm hand. #lifechangesfast

Monthly Archives: April 2017

It has been so long since I’ve taken the time to write about the Riggins Life. We’ve seen lots of change in the past year and a half, the biggest being our move to what we affectionately call “the farm”. We purchased a house with 22 acres of gorgeous property with a beautiful 4 acre pond. With all this land, we have to have a farm, right? I mean, it just makes sense.

But to whom…? If you remember some of my former blog posts, I’m the one who didn’t even really want the 2 dogs we already had. So, I should be on board with having A FARM?

As I’ve learned being married to Steve Riggins, he listens to my concerns and hears me when I say, “I don’t think we’re ready for that..” and then moves ahead however he wishes (thus why our dog population has grown to 4). He absolutely lives by the mantra “ask forgiveness, not permission”. So, when Steve and the boys began talking of nothing else than putting up fences and getting animals, I knew I may as well get on board and enjoy the ride. It’s not like anyone was listening to me anyway.

We started our little farm with 12 Khaki Campbells ducks (the twelve disciples), followed by 14 chickens (4 of our “all hen” population turned out to be roosters…evil beings), then 11 more ducks (Mallards), a Blue Slate turkey (God rest his soul), 5 more ducks (Pekings…like the Aflac duck), 2 adopted ducks who just needed friends and a good home to swim on and now 3 pigs (a boar and 2 sows). We will pick up 200 bees tomorrow (because Steve decided we should be beekeepers…which he told me AFTER he had ordered the bees) and fencing is almost complete for cows. Steve has even talked about getting Alpacas, but I think he’s gone a little off the charts on that one (but one day, they may just show up…because, well, it’s Steve).

I can’t quite explain what has happened to me while living on the farm. It’s definitely a peaceful place to be; I can’t look outside without thanking God for allowing us to live here. And funny, I find myself getting up at 5am to feed chickens and pigs and ducks and dogs and not minding it at all. In fact, do you know how breathtaking it is to walk out in the dark morning with no lights of any kind in sight, and see the sky literally lit up with millions of stars that seem so clear you could almost reach up and touch them? I highly recommend it. It’s pretty amazing.

And these animals! I actually enjoy watching and studying and getting to know these funny creatures in our care! Each one is so amazing – what a creative Creator we have!!

They do bring a lot of joy. And as much as I’ve learned to love (most of) the animals (ahem…not sorry to the devil rooster who is in a friend’s freezer), it hurts that much more when we lose one. RIP Duke. I think many of our friends who have followed my posts on Facebook and Instagram have mourned the loss of Duke, too. I’ve actually been both shocked and touched at the outpouring of love when our sweet turkey died. 2 years ago, I would have rolled my eyes and thought that was crazy; today, it warms my heart. And it will please you all to know that Steve has 18 turkey chicks arriving this month! (I know, I know, we’ll keep the dogs away from them – lesson learned).

I don’t know how far this farming venture will take us, but for right now, it’s just a fun way to enjoy the property God blessed us with. We’re definitely rookies learning from our mistakes, but we are learning and having fun in the process.

More to come from #rigginsfarms…there are far too many stories not to share. 🙂